China's most advanced nuclear submarine may have sunk after launching, US officials say "China is hiding it"

Recently CNN.co.jp reported the following

中国の最新鋭原子力潜水艦、進水後に沈没か　米当局「中国は隠匿」

2024.09.27 Fri posted at 10:19 JST

 （ＣＮＮ） 中国の最新鋭原子力潜水艦が今春に埠頭（ふとう）で沈没し、中国海軍はこの件を隠匿しようとしていたことが分かった。米国防当局者２人が明らかにした。

この攻撃型潜水艦は、武漢市近郊の造船所で建造中の新しい「周」級潜水艦の１番艦だという。周級潜水艦は特徴的なＸ字型の船尾を持ち、水中での操縦性が強化されている。

米マクサー・テクノロジーズが３月１０日に撮影した衛星画像には、同潜水艦が港に停泊している様子が写っている。マクサーが６月後半に撮影した別の画像では潜水艦は埠頭に戻っていなかった。この画像はＣＮＮも確認した。

造船所での不審な活動に最初に気づいたのは、新米国安全保障センターの非常勤上級研究員トム・シュガート氏だ。同氏は中国の造船所の衛星画像を定期的に調査している。

シュガート氏はこれまで造船所にクレーンが１台あることはあっても「（１カ所に）クレーンが密集しているのは見たことがなかった」と話す。

シュガート氏によると、通常、潜水艦は進水後、艤装（ぎそう）のため造船所に数カ月間とどまるが、大型で特徴的なＸ字型の船尾を持つこの潜水艦は造船所からいなくなっていた。

中国は、米国に匹敵する世界クラスの軍隊の構築を目指しており、人民解放軍（ＰＬＡ）海軍と潜水艦部隊の近代化を最優先事項の一つに掲げている。２０２３年に公表された中国軍事力に関する最新報告書によると、ＰＬＡは弾道ミサイル原子力潜水艦６隻、攻撃型原子力潜水艦６隻、通常動力型潜水艦４８隻を運用している。

米海軍は、高速攻撃型潜水艦５３隻、弾道ミサイル潜水艦１４隻、誘導ミサイル潜水艦４隻を保有している。米国の潜水艦隊はすべて原子力型だ。

国防当局の高官によると、潜水艦の沈没時に核燃料が搭載されていたのかどうかは不明。

このニュースは米紙ウォールストリート・ジャーナルが最初に報じた。

ワシントンの中国大使館の広報担当者は「言及されている状況についてはよく知らず、現時点で提供できる情報はない」と述べた。

Translation

China's most advanced nuclear submarine may have sunk after launching, US officials say "China is hiding it"

(CNN) China's most advanced nuclear submarine sank at a pier this spring, and it turned out the Chinese Navy tried to cover up the incident. Two U.S. defense officials revealed this.

The attack submarine was said to be the first of a new class of Zhou-class submarines being built at a shipyard near Wuhan. The Zhou-class submarines had a distinctive X-shaped stern and were designed to be more maneuverable underwater.

Satellite images taken by Maxar Technologies on March 10 showed the submarine parked in port. Another image taken by Maxar in late June showed the submarine not yet back at the pier. The image was also confirmed by CNN.

The suspicious activity at the shipyard was first noticed by Tom Shugart, a non-resident senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security. He regularly examined satellite imagery of Chinese shipyards.

Shugart said he had seen a crane at a shipyard before, but "never seen a cluster of cranes (in one place)."

According to Shugart, after launching, a submarine typically stays at the shipyard for several months to be outfitted, but the large submarine with its distinctive X-shaped stern was gone.

China was seeking to build a world-class military to rival the United States, and had made modernizing the People's Liberation Army (PLA) navy and submarine force one of its top priorities. According to the latest report on China's military power published in 2023, the PLA operated six nuclear ballistic missile submarines, six nuclear attack submarines, and 48 conventionally powered submarines.

The U.S. Navy had 53 fast attack submarines, 14 ballistic missile submarines and four guided missile submarines. The entire U.S. submarine fleet was nuclear-powered.

A senior defense official said it was unclear whether the submarine had nuclear fuel on board when it sank.

The news was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington said: "We are not familiar with the situation you are referring to and have no information to provide at this time."

So, China's most advanced nuclear submarine is believed to have sunk at a pier this spring while under construction. China is seeking to build a world-class military to rival the United States, and has made modernizing the People's Liberation Army (PLA) navy and submarine force one of its top priorities. I am wondering how this setback will affect the progress of the PLA in modernizing its submarines.

拜登提議禁止中國車輛和「連網汽車」技術使用美國的道路

Recently Yahoo News on-line picked up the following:

Biden proposes banning Chinese vehicles, 'connected car' technology from US roads

Updated Mon, September 23, 2024 at 9:24 a.m. PDT·3 min read

Reuters - By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Commerce Department on Monday proposed prohibiting key Chinese software and hardware in connected vehicles on American roads due to national security concerns, a move that would effectively bar Chinese cars and trucks from the U.S. market.

The planned regulation, first reported by Reuters, would also force American and other major automakers in years ahead to remove key Chinese software and hardware from vehicles in the United States.

President Joe Biden's administration has raised concerns about data collection by connected Chinese vehicles on U.S. drivers and infrastructure and potential foreign manipulation of vehicles connected to the internet and navigation systems. In February, the White House ordered an investigation.

The proposed prohibitions would prevent testing of self-driving cars on U.S. roads by Chinese automakers and extend to vehicle software and hardware produced by Russia and could be extended to other U.S. adversaries.

The proposal would make software prohibitions effective in the 2027 model year. The hardware ban would take effect in the 2030 model year or January 2029.

The Commerce Department is giving the public 30 days to comment on the proposal and hopes to finalize it by Jan. 20. The rules would cover all on-road vehicles but exclude agricultural or mining vehicles not used on public roads, as well as drones and trains.

The move is a significant escalation in U.S. restrictions on Chinese vehicles, software and components. This month, the Biden administration locked in steep tariff hikes on Chinese imports, including a 100% duty on electric vehicles and hikes on EV batteries and key minerals.

"When foreign adversaries build software to make a vehicle that means it can be used for surveillance, can be remotely controlled, which threatens the privacy and safety of Americans on the road," Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said. "In an extreme situation, a foreign adversary could shut down or take control of all their vehicles operating in the United States all at the same time causing crashes, blocking roads."

There are relatively few Chinese-made cars or light-duty trucks imported into the U.S. Raimondo said the department is acting "before suppliers, automakers and car components linked to China or Russia become commonplace and widespread ... We're not going to wait until our roads are filled with cars and the risk is extremely significant."

Nearly all newer cars and trucks are considered "connected" with onboard network hardware for internet access, allowing sharing of data with devices inside and outside the vehicle.

The Commerce Department said the rule would amount to a ban on all vehicles manufactured in China but would allow Chinese automakers to seek "specific authorizations" for exemptions.

 "We anticipate at this point that any vehicle that is manufactured in China and sold in the U.S. would fall within the prohibitions," said Liz Cannon, who heads the Commerce Department's information and communications technology office.

She added the regulation would force General Motors and Ford Motor to stop selling vehicles imported from China in the U.S.

The U.S. has ample evidence of China prepositioning malware in critical American infrastructure, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told the briefing.

"With potentially millions of vehicles on the road, each with 10- to 15-year lifespans the risk of disruption and sabotage increases dramatically," Sullivan said.

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian said China urges Washington "to respect market principles and provide Chinese companies with an open, fair, transparent, and non-discriminatory business environment. China will firmly safeguard its legitimate rights and interests."

The Alliance For Automotive Innovation, a group representing major automakers including GM, Toyota, Volkswagen and Hyundai, said some automakers may need more time to comply.

The group said there is "very little" connected vehicle hardware or software "that enters the U.S. from China. But this rule will require auto manufacturers in some cases to find alternate suppliers."

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Edwina Gibbs and David Gregorio)

Translation

拜登提議禁止中國車輛和「連網汽車」技術使用美國的道路

華盛頓（路透社） - 出於國家安全考慮，美國商務部周一提議禁止在美國道路上行駛的聯網車輛使用關鍵的中國軟件和硬件，此舉將有效禁止中國汽車和卡車進入美國市場。

路透社最先報導的這項計劃中的法規還將迫使美國和其他主要汽車製造商在未來幾年從美國汽車上刪除關鍵的中國軟件和硬件。

美國總統拜登政府對中國聯網車輛收集美國駕駛員和基礎設施數據, 以及外國可能操縱聯網和導航系統的車輛表示擔憂。在 2月，白宮下令進行調查。

提議的禁令將阻止中國汽車製造商在美國道路上測試自動駕駛汽車，並擴大到俄羅斯生產的汽車軟件和硬件，亦可能擴大到其他美國對手。

該提案將使軟件的禁令在 2027 年車型年生效。硬件的禁令將對 2030 年款式, 或在2029 年 1 月生效。

商務部給予公眾30 天的時間對該提案發表評論，並希望在1 月20 日之前完成。該規則將涵蓋所有道路車輛，但不包括使用公共道路上的農業或採礦車輛，以及無人機和火車。

此舉標誌著美國對中國車輛、軟件和零件的限制大幅升級。本月，拜登政府鎖定對中國進口產品大幅加徵關稅，包括對電動車徵收 100% 的關稅，以及對電動車電池和關鍵礦物加徵關稅。

美國商務部長Gina Raimondo表示：“當外國對手開發軟件來製造車輛時，這意味著它可以用於監視、可以遠程控制，這會威脅到美國人在路上的隱私和安全。” “在極端情況下，外國對手可能會同時關閉或控制在美國運營的所有車輛，從而導致撞車事故、堵塞道路。”

進口到美國的中國製造的汽車或輕型貨車相對較少。Raimondo說，其部門正“在與中國或俄羅斯有關供的應商、汽車製造商和汽車零部件變得司空见惯及普遍之前採取行動...... 我們不會等待到道路上擠滿了汽車，這風險是非常大的”。

幾乎所有較新的汽車和卡車都被認為與車載網路硬件「連接」以進行互聯網接通，從而允許車內設備和外部的設備共享資料。

美國商務部表示，該規定相當於禁止所有在中國製造的汽車，但將允許中國汽車製造商尋求豁免的「指定授權」。

美國商務部的資訊與通訊技術辦公室主任 Liz Cannon 表示：“我們預計任何目前在中國製造並在美國銷售的車輛都將受到禁令的限制。”

她補充說，該規定將迫使通用汽車和福特汽車停止在美國銷售從中國進口的汽車。

白宮國家安全顧問Jake Sullivan在簡報會上表示，美國有充分證據顯示中國在美國關鍵基礎設施中預先部署了惡意軟體。

Sullivan說： “道路上可能有數百萬輛車輛，每輛車輛的使用壽命有 10 到 15 年，因此擾亂和破壞的風險急劇增加。”

中國外交部發言人Lin Jian表示，中方敦促美方 “尊重市場原則，為中國企業提供開放、公平、透明、非歧視的營商環境。中方將堅定維護自身合法權益。”

代表通用汽車、豐田、大眾和現代等主要汽車製造商的汽車創新聯盟 表示，一些汽車製造商可能需要更多時間來依從。

該組織表示，只有 ”非常少” 的連網汽車硬件或軟件「從中國進入美國, 但該規則將要求汽車製造商在某些情況下尋找替代供應商」。

So, the U.S. has proposed prohibiting key Chinese software and hardware in connected vehicles on American roads due to national security concerns, a move that would effectively bar Chinese cars and trucks from the U.S. market. I tend to see this decision carries a connotation of decoupling from China's EV manufacturing.

科學家將整個人類基因組儲存在「記憶晶體」上，可以保存數十億年

Recently CNN News on-line reported the following:

Scientists store entire human genome on ‘memory crystal’ that could survive billions of years

By Rosa Rahimi, CNN

 3 minute read

Published 7:53 AM EDT, Fri September 20, 2024

London

CNN

 —

Scientists in the United Kingdom have stored the entire human genome on a “5D memory crystal,” in the hope that it could be used in the future as a blueprint to bring humanity back from extinction.

The crystal, which was developed by a team of researchers at the University of Southampton’s Optoelectronics Research Centre, could also be used to create a record of plant and animal species faced with extinction.

It can hold up to 360 terabytes of information for billions of years and can withstand extreme conditions, including freezing, fires, direct impact force, cosmic radiation and temperatures of up to 1,000 degrees Celsius, the university said in a press statement published Thursday.

In 2014, the crystal was awarded the Guinness World Record for “most durable digital storage material.”

Kazansky’s team used ultra-fast lasers to inscribe the human genome data into voids as small as 20 nanometers (a nanometer is about one-billionth of a meter).

They describe the data storage on the crystal as 5D because the information is translated into five different dimensions of its nanostructures — their height, length, width, orientation and position.

“The 5D memory crystal opens up possibilities for other researchers to build an everlasting repository of genomic information from which complex organisms like plants and animals might be restored should science in the future allow,” said Peter Kazansky, a professor of optoelectronics, who led the team at Southampton.

The team had to consider who – or what – would retrieve the information, so far off into the future.

It could be an intelligence (species or machine) – or it could be found in a future so distant that no frame of reference would exist for it. To help whoever finds it, the researchers included a visual key.

“The visual key inscribed on the crystal gives the finder knowledge of what data is stored inside and how it could be used,” said Kazansky.

“Their work is super impressive,” said Thomas Heinis, who leads research on DNA storage at Imperial College London and was not involved in the study. However, he says questions remain about how such data could be read in the future.

“What Southampton presents probably has a higher durability, however, this begs the question: what for? Future generations? Sure, but how will they know how to read the crystal? How will they know how to build the device to read the crystal? Will the device be available in hundreds of years?” he added. “I can barely connect my 10-year-old iPod and listen to what I listened back then.”

For now, the crystal is stored in the Memory of Mankind archive, a time capsule within a salt cave in Austria.

In 2018, Kazansky and his team used the memory crystal technology to store Isaac Asimov’s “Foundation” trilogy of science fiction books, which were then launched into space aboard a Tesla Roadster. The technology has also been used to store major documents from human history, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Magna Carta.

Earlier this year, scientists revealed a plan to safeguard Earth’s species in a cryogenic biorepository on the moon, intended to save species in the event of a disaster on our home planet.

Translation

科學家將整個人類基因組儲存在「記憶晶體」上，可以保存數十億年

CNN

 —

英國科學家將整個人類基因組儲存在「5D記憶晶體」上，希望將來可以將其用為使人類從滅絕中復活的藍圖。

這種晶體由南安普敦大學光電研究中心的一組研究人員開發，也可用於創建面臨滅絕的動植物物種的記錄。

該大學在周四發佈的新聞聲明中表示，它可以保存高達360 TB 的資訊數十億年，並且可以承受極端條件，包括冰凍、火災、直接衝擊力、宇宙輻射和高達1000 攝氏度的溫度。

2014年，該晶體被授予「最耐用的數位儲存材料」健力士世界紀錄。

Kazansky 的團隊使用超快雷射將人類基因組數據刻錄到小至 20 奈米（一奈米約為十億分之一公尺）的空間中。

他們將晶體上的資料儲存描述為 5D，因為資訊被轉換為奈米結構的五個不同方面 - 它們的高度、長度、寬度、方向和位置。

領導該計畫的光電子學教授彼得Peter Kazansky說:「5D 記憶晶體為其他研究人員建立一個永久的基因組資訊儲存庫提供了可能性，如果未來科學允許，可以從中恢復植物和動物等複雜生物體」。

團隊必須考慮誰（或什麼）會在遙遠的未來檢索這資訊。

它可能是一種智慧（物種或機器）- 或者它可能存在於遙遠的未來，以至於不存在於任何參考系。為了幫助找到它的人，研究人員添加了一個視覺鍵。

Kazansky說： “刻在水晶上的視覺鑰匙讓發現者知道裡面存儲了哪些數據以及如何使用這些數據。”

沒有參與這項研究的倫敦帝國學院 DNA 儲存研究負責人 Thomas Heinis 說:「他們的工作非常令人印象深刻」。然而，他表示，未來如何讀取這些數據仍有疑問。

他補充道:「南安普敦所提供的可能具有較高的耐用性，然而，這引出了一個問題：這是為什麼？我們的後代？當然可以，但是他們怎麼知道如何解讀這水晶呢？他們如何知道怎樣建造讀取晶體的設備？數百年後該設備會面世嗎？」。 「我幾乎無法連接我用了 10 年的 iPod 來聽回我當時聽的歌」。

目前，該晶體被保存在人類記憶檔案館中，這是奧地利鹽洞內的一個時間囊。

2018年，Kazansky和他的團隊使用記憶晶體技術儲存了Isaac Asimov的科幻小說《基地》三部曲，然後用Tesla Roadster將其發射到太空。該技術也被用來儲存人類歷史上的主要文件，包括《世界人權宣言》和《大憲章》。

今年早些時候，科學家們宣布了一項在月球用低溫生物樣本庫去保護地球物種的計劃，旨在當我們的家園星球發生災難時拯救物種。

              So, scientists have stored the entire human genome on a “5D memory crystal” in the hope that it could be used in the future as a blueprint to bring humanity back from extinction. But an expert has raised a few questions, such as: how will those who find it in the future will know how to read the crystal? That question leads me to recall the story about the Rosetta Stone that was found in July 1799 in Egypt.

More than 9,700 technical intern trainees disappear from their workplaces, a record high

Recently NHK News on-line reported the following:

職場から失踪した技能実習生 過去最高の9700人余に

2024年9月20日 6時50分

日本で働きながら技能を学ぶ外国人技能実習生のうち、職場から失踪した人の数が去年、過去最高の9700人余りとなったことが分かりました。働く場所を変える「転籍」が原則認められていないことが要因の1つとされていて、国は対策に乗り出しています。

出入国在留管理庁のまとめでは、去年、職場からいなくなった技能実習生は9753人で、おととしより747人増え、これまでで最も多くなりました。

技能実習生全体のおよそ50人に1人の割合で、国別に見るとベトナムが最も多く5481人、ミャンマーが1765人、中国が816人、カンボジアが694人などとなっています。

職種別に見ると建設関係が47.1％と最も多く、農業関係が8.6％、食品製造関係が8.5％、機械・金属関係が7.9％でした。

技能実習生は「やむをえない事情」がある場合を除いて働く場所を変える「転籍」が認められていないため、職場でのトラブルなどで失踪するケースも相次いでいると言われています。

このため出入国在留管理庁は、「やむをえない事情」の具体例として、暴行やハラスメントを受けている場合や、重大で悪質な法令違反などがあった場合があたるとして、「転籍」を認める要件を明確にしました。

また、ハラスメントなどの被害者がいた場合、同僚の実習生も「転籍」できると認めるなど、対策に乗り出しています。

失踪者対策の現状と今後

出入国在留管理庁が行う対策では、「転籍」の手続き期間中の就労を認めるなど実習生を支援する内容が盛り込まれています。

対策では、「転籍」の手続き期間に働くことができず生活に困る実習生もいることから、必要に応じて1週間に28時間以内の就労を認めることにしています。

また手続きに必要な書類の書式を実習生の母国語にした物を新たに整備します。

3年後には「技能実習制度」が廃止され、新たに「育成就労制度」が始まり、転籍の要件が緩和されます。

もとの職場で1年から2年働き、業務分野が同じであれば本人の希望で別の企業などに移ることができます。

Translation

More than 9,700 technical intern trainees disappear from their workplaces, a record high

It was revealed that the number of foreign technical intern trainees who were learning skills while working in Japan but disappeared from their workplaces last year had reached a record high of more than 9,700. One of the reasons for this was that "transfers" to change the place of work were not permitted in principle, and the government was taking measures.

According to a summary by the Immigration Services Agency, 9,753 technical intern trainees disappeared from their workplaces last year, an increase of 747 from the year before last, the highest number ever.

This was about 1 in 50 technical intern trainees in total, and by country, Vietnam had the most with 5,481, followed by Myanmar with 1,765, China with 816, and Cambodia 694 and so forth.

By occupation, construction was the most common at 47.1%, followed by agriculture at 8.6%, food manufacturing at 8.5%, and machinery/metals 7.9%.

Technical intern trainees were not allowed to change their place of work unless there were "unavoidable circumstances", so it was said that there had been a series of disappearances due to troubles at work etc.

For this reason, the Immigration Services Agency of Japan had clarified the conditions for allowing "transfers", stating that specific examples of "unavoidable circumstances" included cases where a trainee had been subjected to assault or harassment, or a serious and malicious violation of laws and regulations.

In addition, measures such as allowing fellow trainees to "transfer" if they had been victims of harassment had been taken.

Current and future measures in dealing with missing persons

The measures taken by the Immigration Services Agency of Japan included measures to support trainees, such as allowing them to work during the "transfer" procedure was in progress.

As part of the measures, in response to the fact that some trainees were unable to work during the transfer process and struggle to make ends meet, the government would allow them to work up to 28 hours a week if needed.

In addition, new formats for the documents needed for the transfer process would be prepared in the trainees' native language.

After three years, the Technical Intern Training System would be abolished and a new Development Employment System would begin, relaxing the requirements for transfer.

After working at their original workplace for one to two years, trainees could move to another company at their own request as long as they remain in the same field of work.

So, the number of technical intern trainees working in Japan who disappeared from their workplaces has reached a record high last year. In response, the government will abolish the present system and use a new one  in order to relax the requirements for work transfer. I am wondering, under the current system, how many disappeared trainees have become illegal residents in the country.

研究估計，超級細菌危機可能會變得更嚴重，到 2050 年將導致近 4,000 萬人死亡 (2/2)

Recently CNN News on-line reported the following:

Superbug crisis could get worse, killing nearly 40 million people by 2050, study estimates (2/2)

By Jacqueline Howard, CNN

Updated 8:40 PM EDT, Mon September 16, 2024

CNN

 —

(continue)

According to the data, the regions of the world most affected by AMR and attributable deaths are South Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and sub-Saharan Africa – and many of these regions don’t have equitable access to quality care, Murray said.

“There are still, unfortunately, a lot of places in low-resource settings where people who need antibiotics are just not getting them, and so that’s a big part of it. But it’s not just the antibiotics. It’s when you’re sick, either as a kid or an adult, and you get sent to hospital, and you get a package of care, essentially, that includes things like oxygen,” Murray said.

“In low-resource settings, even basics like oxygen are often not available. And then, if you are very sick and you need an intensive care unit, well, there’s big parts of the low-resource world – most of them, actually – where you wouldn’t get access to that sort of care,” he said. “So there’s a spectrum of supportive care, plus the antibiotics, that really make a difference.”

But in a scenario where the world has better health care, 92 million cumulative deaths could be averted between 2025 and 2050, the researchers forecast. And in a scenario where the world has new, more potent drugs, about 11 million cumulative deaths could be avoided.

‘There is possible hope on the horizon’

The “innovative and collaborative” approach to this study provides a “comprehensive assessment” of antimicrobial resistance and its potential burden on the world, Samuel Kariuki, of the Kenya Medical Research Institute, wrote in a commentary that accompanied the new study in The Lancet.

Yet he warned that the forecast models do not consider the emergence of new superbugs “and might lead to underestimation if new pathogens arise.”

Overall, “these data should drive investments and targeted action” toward addressing the growing challenge of antimicrobial resistance in all regions of the world, Kariuki wrote.

The new paper represents decades of research on the global burden of antimicrobial resistance, said Dr. Steffanie Strathdee, associate dean of global health sciences and distinguished professor at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, who was not involved in the study.

Strathdee saw firsthand the effects that antimicrobial resistance can have on health when her husband nearly died from a superbug infection.

“I’m somebody who’s lived with antimicrobial resistance affecting my family for the last eight years. My husband nearly died from a superbug infection. It’s actually one of the infections that’s highlighted in this paper,” said Strathdee, who serves as co-director of the Center for Innovative Phage Applications and Therapeutics at UC San Diego.

During a Thanksgiving cruise on the Nile in 2015, Strathdee’s husband, Tom Patterson, suddenly developed severe stomach cramps. When a clinic in Egypt failed to help his worsening symptoms, Patterson was flown to Germany, where doctors discovered a grapefruit-size abdominal abscess filled with Acinetobacter baumannii, a virulent bacterium resistant to nearly all antibiotics.

The annual number of people dying from gram-negative bacteria, like A. baumannii, that are resistant to carbapenem – a class of last-resort antibiotics used to treat severe bacterial infections – rose 89,200 from 1990 to 2021, more than any antibiotic class over that period, according to the new study.

“That’s one of the urgent priority pathogens, which is one of these gram-negative bacteria,” Strathdee said. “And my husband, when he fell ill from this, he was 69. So he’s exactly at the age that this paper is highlighting, that older people are going to be affected by this more in the future, because our population is aging and people have comorbidities, like diabetes, like my husband has.”

Strathdee’s husband recovered after treatment with phages, viruses that selectively target and kill bacteria and that can be used as a treatment approach for antimicrobial-resistant bacterial infections.

“The most important alternative to antibiotics is phage therapy, or bacteriophage therapy, and that’s what saved my husband’s life,” Strathdee said. “Phage can be used very effectively with antibiotics, to reduce the amount of antibiotics that are needed, and they can even be used potentially in livestock and in farming.”

The new study gives Strathdee hope that the world can reduce the potential burden of antimicrobial resistance. That would require improving access to antibiotics and newer antimicrobial medications, vaccines, clean water and other aspects of quality health care around the world, she said, while reducing the use of antibiotics in livestock, food production and the environment, which can breed more resistance.

“There is possible hope on the horizon,” Strathdee said. “If we were to scale up these interventions, we could dramatically reduce the number of deaths in the future.”

Translation

研究估計，超級細菌危機可能會變得更嚴重，到 2050 年將導致近 4,000 萬人死亡 (2/2)

CNN

 —

（繼續）

Murray說，根據數據，世界上受抗菌素抗藥性, 和它相關死亡影響的最嚴重地區是南亞、拉丁美洲和加勒比地區以及撒哈拉以南非洲地區，其中許多地區無法公平地獲得優質護理。

Murray說: 「不幸的是，在很多資源匱乏的地方，需要抗生素的人卻得不到抗生素，而這正是其中很大的一部分的地方。但這不僅單是抗生素。當你生病時，無論是作為一個孩子還是一個成年人，你應會被送往醫院，你會得到一籃子護理，基本上包括氧氣等」。

他說:「在資源匱乏的環境中，甚至連氧氣等基本物資也常常無法取得。然而，如果你病得很重，需要重症監護室，那麼，在大部分地區都是資源匱乏的世界裡 - 實際上是絕大部分 - 你無法獲得這種護理」; 「因此，一系列支持性護理，再加上抗生素，確實能帶來改善」。

研究人員預測，如果世界有更好的醫療保健，2025 年至 2050 年間，可避免累計死亡人數達9,200 萬人。如果世界上有新的、更有效的藥物，就可以避免累積死亡人數大約 1,100 萬人。

“有可能會出現希望”

肯亞醫學研究所的Samuel Kariuki 在附帶於《柳葉刀》新研究的評論中寫道，這項研究的「創新和協作」方法為抗菌素抗藥性及其給世界帶來的潛在負擔提供了「全面評估」。

但他警告說，預測模型沒有考慮新超級細菌的出現，“如果出現新病原體，預測可能會被低估。”

Kariuki寫道，總體而言， “這些數據應該推動投資和有針對性的行動” ，以應對世界所有地區日益嚴峻的抗菌素抗藥性挑戰。

加州大學聖地牙哥分校醫學院全球健康科學副院長、傑出教授Steffanie Strathdee博士（未參與這項研究）表示，這篇新論文代表了數十年來對全球抗菌素抗藥性負擔的研究。

當Strathdee的丈夫差點死於超級細菌感染時，她親眼目睹了抗菌素抗藥性對健康的影響。

加州大學聖地牙哥分校創新噬菌體應用和治療中心聯合主任Strathdee說。「在過去的八年裡，我親身經歷我的家人一直受到抗生素抗藥性的困擾。我先生差點死於超級細菌感染。這實際上是本文強調的感染之一」。

在2015 年感恩節尼羅河遊輪期間，Strathdee的丈夫Tom Patterson 突然出現嚴重的胃痙攣。當埃及的一家診所對他惡化中的症狀未能幫忙時，Patterson被空運往德國，在那裡醫生發現了一個柚子大小的腹部膿腫，裡面充滿了Acinetobacter baumannii (鮑曼不動桿菌)，這是一種對幾乎所有抗生素都有抵抗力的劇毒細菌。

從1990 年到2021 年，每年死於gram-negative bacteria(革蘭氏陰性菌), 如鮑曼不動桿菌的人數增加了89,200 人，超過了過去10 年中任何抗生素類別的數量, 這些細菌對carbapenem (碳青黴烯類抗生素) 一類用於治療嚴重細菌感染的最後手段的抗生素具有抗藥性。

Strathdee說：「這是當務之急的病原體之一，也是革蘭氏陰性細菌之一」; 「而我的丈夫，當他因此細菌而病倒時，他已經69 歲了。所以他正是本文所強調的年齡，老年人在未來將更多地受到這種情況的影響，因為我們的人口正在老齡化，人們有併發症，例如糖尿病，就像我丈夫一樣」。

Strathdee的丈夫在接受噬菌體治療後康復了，噬菌體是一種選擇性針對向並殺死細菌的病毒，可作為治療抗藥性細菌感染的方法。

Strathdee說: 「抗生素最重要的替代品是噬菌體療法，或者說phage療法，這挽救了我丈夫的生命」; 「噬菌體可以非常有效地與抗生素一起使用，以減少所需的抗生素用量，它們甚至可以用於牲畜和農業」。

這項新研究給了Strathdee希望，即世界可以減少抗菌藥物抗藥性的潛在負擔。她說，這需要改善世界各地獲得抗生素和更新的抗菌藥物、疫苗、清潔水源和優質醫療保健其他方面的機會，同時減少牲畜、糧食生產和環境中抗生素的使用，因為抗生素可能會滋生更多的抗藥性。

Strathdee說: 「有可能會出現希望」; 「如果我們要加強這些干預措施，我們未來可以大幅減少死亡人數」。

              So, a new study project shows that the number of lives lost around the world due to infections that are resistant to the medications could increase nearly 70% by 2050. One solution is the use of bacteriophage therapy. Also, in order to check the increasing death due to infection, we need to improve access to antibiotics and newer antimicrobial medications, vaccines, clean water, and other aspects of quality health care.

Note:

1. The Center for Innovative Phage Applications and Therapeutics (IPATH) was founded in the UC San Diego School of Medicine in 2018. Its goal is to pursue new treatments for combating antimicrobial resistant diseases-focusing on bacteriophage (phage) therapy. It also strives to advance phage therapy into clinical trials so that it can be rigorously evaluated and if proven efficacious, become more widely available to combat the global superbug crisis. ( https://idgph.ucsd.edu/research/center-innovative-phage-applications-and-therapeutics/about/index.html)

2. A Bacteriophage (噬菌體) also known informally as a phage is a virus that infects bacteria and archaea, and is characterized by targeting bacteria as its host. Like other viruses, phages are also a ball of genetic material wrapped in a protein coat. Most phages also have a "tail" used to inject genetic material into the host. After injecting its genome into the cytoplasm, the phage replicates within the bacterium. Bacteriophages are the most common and diverse entities in the biosphere. (Wikipedia)

3. Acinetobacter baumannii (鮑曼不動桿菌), commonly known as AB bacteria, is a gram-negative bacterium. It is a strictly aerobic, non-lactose fermenting opportunistic pathogen. This bacterium is a common type of bacteria in the genus Acinetobacter in hospital infections and is also a pathogenic bacterium in aquaculture animals. (Wikipedia)

研究估計，超級細菌危機可能會變得更嚴重，到 2050 年將導致近 4,000 萬人死亡 (1/2)

Recently CNN News on-line reported the following:

Superbug crisis could get worse, killing nearly 40 million people by 2050, study estimates (1/2)

By Jacqueline Howard, CNN

Updated 8:40 PM EDT, Mon September 16, 2024

CNN

 —

The number of lives lost around the world due to infections that are resistant to the medications intended to treat them could increase nearly 70% by 2050, a new study projects, further showing the burden of the ongoing superbug crisis.

Cumulatively, from 2025 to 2050, the world could see more than 39 million deaths that are directly attributable to antimicrobial resistance or AMR, according to the study, which was published Monday in the journal The Lancet.

Antimicrobial resistance happens when pathogens like bacteria and fungi develop the ability to evade the medications used to kill them.

The World Health Organization has called AMR “one of the top global public health and development threats,” driven by the misuse and overuse of antimicrobial medications in humans, animals and plants, which can help pathogens develop a resistance to them.

The new study reveals that when it comes to the prevalence of AMR and its effects, “we expect it to get worse,” said lead author Dr. Chris Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.

“We need appropriate attention on new antibiotics and antibiotic stewardship so that we can address what is really quite a large problem,” he said.

Older adults bear the burden

The researchers – from the Global Research on Antimicrobial Resistance Project, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and other institutions – estimated deaths and illnesses attributable to versus associated with antimicrobial resistance for 22 pathogens, 84 pathogen-drug combinations and 11 infections across 204 countries and territories from 1990 through 2021. A death attributable to antimicrobial resistance was directly caused by it, while a death associated with AMR may have another cause that was exacerbated by the antimicrobial resistance.

About 520 million individual records were part of the data to make those estimates.

The researchers found that from 1990 to 2021, deaths from AMR fell more than 50% among children younger than 5 but increased more than 80% among adults 70 and older – trends that are forecast to continue.

It was surprising to see those patterns emerge, Murray said.

“We had these two opposite trends going on: a decline in AMR deaths under age 15, mostly due to vaccination, water and sanitation programs, some treatment programs, and the success of those,” Murray said.

“And at the same time, there’s this steady increase in the number of deaths over age 50,” he said, as the world ages; older adults can be more susceptible to severe infection.

The researchers found that the pathogen-drug combination that had the largest increase in causing the most burden among all age groups was methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA. For this combination – the antibiotic methicillin and the bacteria S. aureus – the number of attributable deaths nearly doubled from 57,200 in 1990 to 130,000 in 2021.

Using statistical modeling, the researchers also produced estimates of deaths and illnesses attributable to AMR by 2050 in three scenarios: if the current climate continues, if new potent antibiotic drugs are developed to target resistant pathogens, and if the world has improved quality of health care for infections and better access to antibiotics.

The forecasts show that deaths from antimicrobial resistance will increase by 2050 if measures are not in place to improve access to quality care, powerful antibiotics and other resources to reduce and treat infections.

The researchers estimated that, in 2050, the number of global deaths attributable to antimicrobial resistance could reach 1.9 million, and those associated with antimicrobial resistance could reach 8.2 million.

(to be continued)

Translation

研究估計，超級細菌危機可能會變得更嚴重，到 2050 年將導致近 4,000 萬人死亡 (1/2)

CNN

 —

一項新的研究預計，到 2050 年，世界各地因對治療藥物產生抗藥性的感染而喪生的人數可能會增加近 70%，這進一步表明了持續的超級細菌危機的負擔。

根據週一發表在《刺針》雜誌上的這項研究，從 2025 年到 2050 年，全球將有超過 3,900 萬人因抗菌素抗藥性 (AMR )直接死亡。

當細菌和真菌等病原體發展出逃避用於殺死它們的藥物的能力時，就會出現抗菌素抗藥性。

世界衛生組織將抗菌素抗藥性稱為“全球最大的公共衛生和發展威脅​​之一”，原因是人類、動物和植物濫用和過度使用抗菌藥物，這可能有助於病原體產生抗藥性。

這項新研究表明，就抗菌素抗藥性的流行及其影響而言，主要作者、華盛頓大學健康指標與評估研究所所長Chris Murray博士說:“我們預計情況會變得更糟” 。

他說:「我們需要對新抗生素和抗生素管理給予適當的關注，以便我們能夠解決這個真正相當大的問題」。

老年人承擔重擔

來自全球抗菌素抗藥性研究計畫、健康指標與評估研究所 和其他機構的研究人員估計了由1990 年至 2021 年期間204 個國家及地區的22 種病原體、84 種病原體-藥物組合, 和11 種感染 因抗菌素抗藥性導致的死亡和疾病。抗菌素抗藥性導致的死亡是直接引起的，而與抗菌素抗藥性相關的死亡可能是有另一個原因，即抗菌素抗藥性加劇了這種死亡。

這些估計的數據包括約 5.2 億個個人記錄。

研究人員發現，從1990 年到2021 年，5 歲以下兒童的抗菌素抗藥性死亡率下降了50% 以上，但70 歲及以上的成年人則增加了80% 以上 - 預計這一趨勢將持續下去。

Murray說，看到這些模式的出現令人驚訝。

Murray說「我們出現了兩種相反的趨勢：15 歲以下的 AMR 死亡人數下降，這主要歸功於疫苗接種、水和衛生設施計劃、一些治療計劃以及這些計劃的成功」。

他說：「與此同時，50 歲以上的死亡人數穩步增加」。 隨著世界老化, 老年人可能更容易受到嚴重感染。

研究人員發現，在所有年齡層中. 造成最大負擔增加的病原體藥物組合中, 最多的是抗甲氧西林金黃色葡萄球菌（MRSA）。對於抗生素甲氧西林和金黃色葡萄球菌的這種組合，導至死亡人數幾乎翻了一番，從 1990 年的 5萬7千200 人增加到 2021 年的 13 萬人。

利用統計模型，研究人員也對到2050 年時, 在三種情況下由AMR 造成的死亡和疾病進行了估計：如果當前的氣候持續下去，如果開發出新的強效抗生素藥物來針對抗藥性病原體，以及如果世界是否提高了醫療保健品質預防感染並更好地獲得抗生素。

預測顯示，如果不採取措施改善去獲得優質護理、去獲得強效抗生素, 和去獲得其他資源以減少感染和得到感染治療，到 2050 年，因抗菌藥物抗藥性而死亡的人數將會增加。

研究人員估計，到2050年，全球因抗生素抗藥性導致的死亡人數可能達到190萬，而與抗生素抗藥性有相關的死亡人數可能達到820萬人。

（待續）

科學家表示，法國發現的洞穴可能解釋了尼安德特人消失的原因 (2/2)

Recently CNN News on-line reported the following:

Cave discovery in France may explain why Neanderthals disappeared, scientists say (2/2)

Katie Hunt, CNN

Thu, September 12, 2024 at 7:11 a.m. PDT·5 min read

(continue)

DNA from Homo sapiens fossils from that time show that these early arrivals interbred with Neanderthals — traces of those encounters remain in present-day human populations. However, no corresponding genetic evidence of that interbreeding has been found in Neanderthal fossils from that time, including Thorin’s remains, the study noted.

Whatever behavior led to this lack of genetic intermingling on one side, along with small and isolated Neanderthal populations such as the one Slimak and his colleagues identified, likely contributed to the disappearance of the Neanderthals, said Chris Stringer, research lead in human evolution at London’s Natural History Museum who wasn’t involved in the study.

“Whatever the reasons for this imbalance (social, biological?) it contributed to the demise of the last Neanderthals, since their already small populations were losing reproductive age individuals to the other species, without any replenishment in return,” Stringer said via email.

“Coupled with economic competition from the newcomers over resources, this could have been a recipe for demographic collapse.”

It’s not clear whether Thorin’s full skeleton is interred within Grotte Mandrin, as the rock shelter in the Rhône Valley near Malataverne, France, is known. The remains were found near the surface in soft, unstable ground, and the excavation continues slowly, Slimak said, with archaeologists tweezing out “one grain at a time.” It’s also unclear whether the specimen, which is male, was deliberately buried or not.

Archaeologists have excavated more of Thorin’s remains: 31 teeth, part of the jaw and five finger bones, so far. The shape of his teeth is typical of a Neanderthal, but he had two extra lower molars — a trait sometimes suggestive of an inbred population, the study noted.

Genetic mystery resolved

The initial genetic analysis suggested that Thorin was much older because his genome was distinct from other later Neanderthals, resembling the genomes of ancient humans who lived more than 100,000 years ago.

To understand Thorin’s origins and confirm the age of his remains, the team analyzed chemical isotopes in his bones and teeth to infer what type of climate he lived in based on the water he would have drunk and other factors. A Neanderthal in Europe 105,000 years ago would have a enjoyed a much warmer climate than one living 45,000 years ago during the Ice Age.

“We worked for seven years to find out who was wrong — archaeologists or genomicists,” Slimak said in the news release.

Slimak has been involved in the excavation of Grotte Mandrin for more than three decades and made a number of exciting finds at the rock shelter. It’s the only known site to have been home to alternating groups of both Homo sapiens and Neanderthals, plus the earliest evidence of bow and arrow use outside Africa.

“Grotte Mandrin keeps delivering surprises,” Stringer said.

Translation

科學家稱，法國發現的洞穴可能解釋了尼安德特人消失的原因 (2/2)

（繼續）

當時智人化石的 DNA 顯示，這些早期到達者與尼安德特人進行了雜交 - 這些相遇的痕跡仍然存在於當今的人類群體中。然而，研究指出，那時的包括Thorin的遺骸的尼安德塔人化石中並沒有發現這種雜交的相對應遺傳證據。

沒有參與這項研究的倫敦自然史博物館人類演化研究負責人Chris Stringer表示，無論是什麼行為缺乏導致, 這種缺乏遺傳的混合，再加上像Slimak和他的同事所發現的小而孤立的尼安德特人族群，很可能導致了尼安德特人的消失。

Stringer在電子郵件中說：「無論這種不平衡的原因是什麼（社會的、生物的？），它都導致了最後一批尼安德特人的滅亡，因為他們本來就有很小的人口, 失去正處於生育年齡的羣體給其他人種，而沒有得到任何補充」。

“再加上新來者對資源的經濟競爭，這可能會導致人口崩滅。”

目前還不清楚Thorin的完整骨架是否埋葬在Grotte Mandrin內，即已知的法國Malataverne附近羅納河谷的岩石庇護所。Slimak說，現有遺骸是在地表附近的柔軟、不穩定的地面上所發現，挖掘工作仍在緩慢進行，考古學家把問題慢慢小心「一個個來處理」。目前還不清楚這個男性標本是否是故意安葬的。

到目前為止，考古學家已經挖掘出更多Thorin的遺骸：31 顆牙齒、部分下顎和 5 塊指骨。研究指出，他的牙齒形狀是典型的尼安德特人的，但他有兩顆額外的下臼齒 - 這一特徵有時暗示著近交群種。

基因之謎已解開

最初的基因分析表明，Thorin的年齡要大得多，因為他的基因組與其他後來的尼安德特人不同，類似於生活在十萬多年前的古人類的基因組。

為了了解Thorin的起源並確認他遺骸的年齡，研究小組分析了他的骨骼和牙齒中的化學同位素，根據他喝過的水和其他因素來推斷他生活的氣候類型。 105,000 年前生活在歐洲的尼安德特人比 45,000 年前冰河時期的尼安德特人享受著溫暖得多的氣候。

Slimak在新聞稿中說: 「我們花了七年的時間來找出誰錯了 - 是考古學家還是基因學家」。

三十多年來，Slimak一直參與Grotte Mandrin的發掘工作，並在岩石掩體中取得了許多令人興奮的發現。這是唯一已知的智人和尼安德特人交替居住的遺址，也是非洲以外最早使用弓箭的證據。

Stringer說:「Grotte Mandrin 不斷帶來驚喜」。

              So, until now, geneticists thought that at the time of Neanderthal extinction there was one population that was genetically homogeneous, but the new study reveals at least two populations were present in Western Europe at that time — and they lived surprisingly close to each other. The discovery suggested that Neanderthal communities were small and insular. Isolation is generally considered to be an evolutionary disadvantage. Less genetic variation could make it harder to adapt to changing climate or disease, harder to share knowledge and technology. Neanderthal were happy to stay in one place while Homo sapiens all the time want to explore, an instinct that I think is similar to human’s current desire to explore the moon and beyond.